Rustic Rambler

Hampi had been in my bucket list of places to travel for quite sometime, but due to various reasons the plan had never materialized. At last in November last year when I was thinking about my plans for bringing in the New Year, I decided I will plan Hampi for the New Year.

I told about my plan on the whatsapp group (we call ourselves the Rubber Band) and I got the nod from almost 10 people, who were all excited about the prospect of welcoming the new year whilst travelling! And thus started the planning for the trip. Since it was a long weekend and I didn't want to restrict the trip to just Hampi, but also cover some places enroute, I got about checking the map and lot of websites for places of interest nearby. There are a lot of places around Hampi that are of historical importance. The place that really caught my attention was Gandikota, a ruined fort complex in Kadappah district of Andhra, some 250 KMs away from Hampi.

I made the travel itinerary in the subsequent week, dotting the places that we will be going to. Below is the email with the itinerary that I sent my friends:

Hi Guys,

Below is the itinerary for the New Year's Hampi trip. Let me know if this is good. Drive will be relaxed onward and a little hectic during return. But we can definitely manage it.

Dec 31st – 4 PM – start from Chennai

Chennai – Gadikota – 350 KMs – 7- 8 hours

New Year’s celebration on the way. We will try to reach Gadikota as much as possible by Midnight, if we start on time.

Jan 1st – Gadikota and Belum Caves

Visit Gadikota, as much as possible around Sun rise for the best views. Go around the fort, Have breakfast and proceed to Belum caves. Explore the caves and surrounding areas post lunch.

Gadikota – Belum Caves – 60 KMs

Around 5 PM we will start and proceed to Hampi.

Belum Caves – Hampi – 200 KMs – 6 Hours

Night halt – Around 11 PM find a suitable camp site before reaching Hampi and call it a day.

Jan 2nd and 3rd – Hampi

The next two days we will explore Hampi and adjoining areas completely. We can hire cycles in Hampi and go around the ruined city and take a hike to surrounding hills around sunset.

Stay: We will try and get some accommodation for the 2 days.

Places of interest:

·         Virupaksha Temple,

·         Hampi Bazaar

·         Monolith Bull

·         Lakshmi Narasimha temple

·         Hemakuta Hill temples

·         Vithala Temple (the famous Stone Chariot is located here),

·         Hazara Rama Temple

·         Royal Enclosures, Queen's Bath, Zanana Enclosure (which also houses the Lotus Mahal), Elephant Stables

·         Achyut Raya temple

·         the Matanga Hill

We will cover as much as possible in a relaxed manner over the two days.

Jan 4th – Tungabadra Dam – Hospet

Hampi – Tunga Dam – Chennai – 600 KMs – 11-12 hours

We will start early on Sunday and visit the Tungabadra Dam and then proceed to Hospet and drive back to Chennai. It’s easily 11-12 hours drive with stops in between. We will plan so as to reach Chennai by late night on 4th.

By the 28th of December, we had decided on the final count of people who were joining. We were 10 of us in 2 cars (1 innova and 1 Swift), with 2 tents, (One 8 people tent and One 3 people tent), food, backpacks, and lot of camera equipment (thanks to one super awesome photographer/cinematographer friend).

On the 31st of December we set out from Chennai. We started at around 4 PM and were thinking of reaching somewhere close to Gandikota, late in the night so that we can catch the sunrise there. The route we had planned for was:

Chennai - Nellore - Badvel - Jamalamadugu - Gandikota - Belum - Hospet - Hampi - Tungabadra - Anantapur - Chitoor - Chennai

We reached Nellore around 8 PM and had some nice, spicy nellore dosas for dinner there. The road from Chennai to Nellore was superb, except at a few places. From there we proceeded further towards Jammalamadugu through the state highway. The roads from Nellore were in a pathetic condition and we struggled to move at more than 60 Kmph. The roads were hardly, if ever, lit and had a lot of potholes.

Around 11 PM we decided we should call it a day and camp somewhere. We were still a long way from Jammalamadugu and didn't want to push any further since most of us were tired and we wanted to camp and celebrate the New Year in some village. So we stopped at the next village, some 10 KMs after Badvel. We found a nice cemented area to camp and pitched our tents.

We pitched the tents, the guys took out some beers and I took to my bovonto and we started our celebration. Somewhere close by, a bunch of youngsters from the village had gathered together, bursting crackers and shouting Happy New Year. We welcomed the new year in style, camping in an unknown village somewhere with barely any signal. I walked across the road to a point where I could catch a 2 point signal and called and messaged some important people, and after some chatting and pulling legs etc, around 2 AM I went to sleep.

After a short nap, at 4 we woke up and started our journey to Gandikota. Around 5.30 we reached a small town, where we took some tea and refreshed ourselves. A left from there, led us to Jammalamadugu. There were numerous Cuddapa quarries en-route and we stopped at one huge one to have a look! The quarry looked abandoned with a huge pool of water down below. The size was humongous!

At around 8 we reached Jammalamadugu, had an amazing breakfast (Idly, kara dosas, vada, poha etc) and made our way to Gandikota. The road and the scenery en-route to Gandikota is a treat to the eyes! Winding roads through vast barren land with varying terrain, we didn't want the ride to end!

After a small glitch with one of the cars, which took an hour of our time, we reached Gandikota by 10 AM. We were the first people to reach the place that day. The entry to the fort was like entering a palace! We rode into the fort through the narrow road and parked our car inside (which we realized was a huge mistake) and walked up directly to the canyon.

The views at Gandikota are astoundingly beautiful and gives you goosebumps all along! I would suggest each on of you, who is in India or visits India to go to Gandikota! It's just spectacular, all along! After some photo and video sessions (GoPro on DJI Phantom) we came back, only to find that the fort was now filled with people, owing to the holiday. And our cars, which we had parked inside were now completely blocked with 10's of other cars and bikes and Autorickshaws. We had to wait, push, move a lot of vehicles to take our cars out, and we ended up wasting another 90 minutes of our time.

Once out, we had tea and cool drinks and headed to the APTDC's restaurant and had some good meals and refreshed ourselves and set out to Belum caves, which was around 60 KMs away.

We reached Belum caves around 5 PM, right in time before they closed the entry. The Belum caves are huge. The entry point is a staircase going under ground, like into a well. 

As we start walking in, you start realizing how huge and strange the place is. It is the longest cave structure in India, a whopping 3 KM long, most of which is currently closed to public. We took a guide along, who took us around, speaking a lot of sense and non sense and rushing us (since it was beyond closing time). We had fun making echos, shooting with the Sony A7s in zero light and making shadows etc.

By the time we got out, it was already dark and we decided to stay at the APTDC guest house just outside Belum. We kept our bags in, refreshed and went out to have some dinner and then called it a day!

We started for Hampi early the next morning. It was a long, 200 KMs drive through good and bad roads. We crossed the ultra tech cement factory which resembled the reliance city in Jam Nagar! So huge and full of lights, it looked very fancy from outside! 

We reached Hampi around 11 PM. We parked our vehicles and headed straight for lunch in one of those crowded restaurants. 

Then we went around the town for quite a bit. Started with the famous Virupaksha temple, taking time lapse videos, pictures and documenting the wonderful history of the beautiful temple through pictures and videos. We spent quite a bit of time within the temple. I sat in one corner and meditated for a while, refreshing myself! 

Beside the temple was the Hemakuta hill, a small hillock with some structures on it. This was one of the many sunset points in the city.

 We spent the rest of the evening on the hill, taking pictures and relaxing with one of the most beautiful sunset views ever! 

The place was extremely romantic and attracted a lot of young couples during that time. 

It was dark by the time we came down the Hemakuta hill. We decided to camp out and since we had to look for a place, and since there was no vacant camping spot inside Hampi, we took our cars and headed outside Hampi, looking for a camping spot. We drove for around 6 to 7 KMs when we saw a deviation to the left. Luckily for us there were lot of vacant plots in this area. We went a little inside and chose a spot and decided to camp for the night. 

The weather was extremely good. A few of us went to Hospet and got dinner for the group. We had a superb dinner and then pitched the tents and called it a night. Camping there was a brilliant experience, with the moon and stars giving us a surreal blanket! It is not in the hotels or cosy beds that one gets peace, it was here, in the open, being one with all!

We woke up the next day, packed everything and left for Hampi. We parked our vehicles and took turns to get refreshed. One quick note about the public toilets in Hampi; they were extremely clean and ultra modern! It was surprising to see the toilets maintained so well!

After getting refreshed, we went to have brunch. This time we chose a lesser known restaurant in one of the market roads. Had a decent continental brunch, after which we set out to visit the Queen's bath. Every monument in Hampi had it's own grandeur and history! The sheer scale of the monuments and it's perfect engineering leaves you speechless and in awe.

We visited the following places that day:

Queen's bath

Hazara Rama temple

Elephant stables

Step tank

The underground shiva temple

Vithala temple

Matunga hill

We ended the day on top of the Matunga hill amongst hordes of monkeys, with yet another beautiful view of sunset over the entire Hampi city! It was a glorious view.

We descended down the hill around 7 PM after the sun was completely down. Hungry and thirsty we took directly to a restaurant. Ate to our heart's content, drank (some special drink which shall not be named here) and then went back to the camping spot. We told a final bye to Hampi before leaving, vowing to come back, for we had still a lot left to see (the other bank of the river). 

The next morning we started at around 7 and visited the Tungabadra dam and reservoir, which resembled an ocean. 

From there we started our journey back to Chennai, stopping for breakfast in Tungabadra town (sumptuous breakfast on the roadside) and driving through the beautiful roads of Anantapur. I reached home by around midnight.

It was an extremely memorable trip with a bunch of like minded souls. Loved every bit of it and the places we visited were all par excellence. This route definitely shall be done again in a more relaxed way! Hampi and Gandikota have been etched in memory forever!

The Dream, The Fantasy, The Wish

It had always been my childhood dream to dive into a cool blue pool from 40 feet and feel the splash of the water in my face… It had always been a fantasy to sleep in the middle of a dense forest with Snakes and Insects for company, staring at the infinite space and counting the stars. It had always been a wish to walk through mountain streams and drink the pure water right from where it originates!! 

All these had been dreams, fantasies and wishes.. Until, one day I decided to ask google for help! And I bumped into the Chennai Trekking Club, February of 2011! That one google search for trekking places near Chennai changed my life… Forever!!

4 years later, I’m a person who is envied for my intimate relationship with nature! That is right. I end up in the lap of Nature every now and then, escaping the concrete jungle, pollution and all the unhealthy noises. It gives me a profound peace and tranquillity to be able to stay away from all the madness of the City and spend a night deep within the woods, sleeping on the peak of a hill and bathing in the Crystal blue pools. My Stint with the Chennai Trekking Club!

I signed up for my first trek with the Chennai Trekking Club the moment I got routed to the website by a google search! This was around January 2011. I got an email informing me about a two days’ trek to a place called Nagala, 100 KMs north of Chennai! The pictures on the email showed amazing waterfalls, blue pools, people enjoying in a campfire in some forest like set up.. I was sceptical about all the pictures since it said 100 KMs from Chennai and I could not believe that there would be anything close to what is depicted in the picture at such a close vicinity! 

With all the doubts in mind, I still signed up for the trek along with a friend of mine. And to my surprise I was selected for the trek based on my false allegation that I had trekked before. Well, I have just walked around some hills in Wayanad during a college trip, if that counts as trekking. And the trek was scheduled for the 13th and 14th of February. I was immensly excited about this one trek. On the 11th of February, the friend who was supposed to accompany me, dropped out of the trek.  Well, this did not deter me from going anyway. On the 13th morning I set out from home and reached Nathan’s Cafe in Koyambedu, the assembly point where Biju, the trekking lead who had sent the invite, was all busy taking attendance. I was appalled to find that I had to go on this trek with 50 people, total strangers to me at that time. I just thought I’ll be with myself and enjoy the trek. And thus began my stint with CTC!

The Infatuation 

After a 3 hour long bus journey, in which I already found 2 companions, from Cognizant, we reached a barren land with view of a huge range of mountains in the distant and a big wall of sand in the foreground! And then it happened!! We climbed up the sand wall and were bamboozled by the scene of a beautiful lake with a mountain in the background, a typical wallpaper material!! And that was it! I had fallen for her, Nagala. The first time I actually fell in love, ever!! And I thought it was an infatuation!

  The irresistable Queen!

Yes! Nagala was a queen! A queen so Majestic and Pristine, she was totally irresistable! And i never resisted! 

We were standing there in the white land. It was white till our eyes could see and there in the horizon it merged with the blue. The sky was clear and it was a beautiful evening. The best we could have asked for. This was one of the emptiest places I had ever seen. The vastness of the landscape and the flat barren land till the horizon made us look meek and small. To think that this extended for over 100 KMs and that we were staring into Pakistan, was quite amazing.

Yes! We were at the Rann of Kutch, the great white desert. It is one of the strangest places I’ve been to!

It was the 5th day of our trip in Gujarat. The experience thus far had been one of the most reveling ever! The vibrant old world charm of the state, interspersed with modern outlook, made for a really charming combination.

A walk through the streets of Bhuj tells you stories of how the region has come back on its feet after having been devastated by the earthquake in 2001. Almost every building had scars from the catastrophe, some in the form of cracks, some in the form of rebuilt balconies and stairs. But the entire scene of the city of Bhuj leaves you with a feeling of contentment. A positive vibe prevails. A sense of hope looms onto you, a hope that there is always a beautiful future beyond the troubled days.

All the fuss started when a friend of mine, Sandy, told me sometime last year, about this trek to Himalayas conducted by YHAI every year at a very cheap rate. Since I started trekking a year and a half ago with the Chennai Trekking Club, I’ve always wanted to trek to the himalayas someday. Little did I know that everything would materialize so soon, thanks to my “Just Do it!” attitude. ;)

January this year I happened to visit the YHAI website just by chance. And to my surprise I saw that they had just opened registrations for the National Himalayan Trekking Expedition to this place called Sarpass. I read through the contents of the website and found that the trek was for around 11 days and it costed just around Rs 3600 excluding travel to the base camp. Now I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity! 

During the next few days I spoke to some of my trekking friends and as it turned out all of them were interested but weren’t sure if they could get a leave for 2 weeks. That’s when it dawned me! What about my leaves?!

The very next day I went to my Team Lead and told him about my plans to go on this trek in May. And though he could not give me a complete assurance I took him half nod as an assurance (;)) and went decided that come what may, I would definitely go on this trek!

So I went back to trying to get someone to go on the trek with me. After a lot of yeses and nos from various people I somehow made Arjun agree to join me and explained the entire process. The very next day, fearing he might back out, I booked the membership and the trek for the 2 of us. ;)

The week after that, February 2nd week to be precise I booked our to and fro flights to Delhi along with the bus to Manali from Delhi. All was set! This was confirmation enough that I was definitely going to trek the Himalaya, my dream destination! :D

The days that followed were full of treks to Nagala and other places close by. The excitement about Himalayas stayed alive with many friends inquiring about the same. 

Our trek was planned for the 21st of May till the 2nd of June. During the 2nd week of March I got the biggest shock when one of my best friends from school called me to inform that her marriage was to happen on the 30th of May!! But not having the mind to cancel or postpone the trek, I put in all my guts and with a heavy heart I told my friend I wouldn’t be able to make it to her marriage. As sad as she was about this, I’m sure she doesn’t mind it now. :)

The Planning 

2 weeks before the trek was when it dawned on us that we had just 2 weekends to do all the shopping. It was only then that I started looking through blogs to find out what were the essential things that were required to go on this high altitude trek. After some research and reading various blogs, I jotted down a list of items to be purchased. The list was huge! 

Now.. I’m not going into the details of what was purchased and how we went about everything, because that would take up the entire blog! Let me just say that as always we ended up packing till the last moment. And still I did not get any wollen clothes neither did I get a medical certificate or a passport size photo. And that’s me.. :D

But one thing worth mentioning is the Canon 1100D which was gracefully given to us by Vinoth Durairaj and also the amazing 18-200mm Lens given by Navanee!

With a lot of trouble I woke up at 5.30 that morning, finished all morning duties (the water was freezing cold!), kicked Arjun awake and at 6.15 we set off from the room towards Manali bus station. We were supposed to take a bus to Kasol, which is a small town some 100 KMs from Manali. That was where the base camp for the YHAI trek was located. 

Even though we had the luxury of taking an auto to Manali, we decided to walk. The morning was cold and walking was a very good option. It took us exactly 15 mins to walk the 3 KMs and reach the bus stand, with our huge backpacks!

The 5 hours bus drive

We found our bus whose destination was a place called Manikaran, which by reading in some blogs I knew, was famous for Natural hot water springs. The bus started at 7 AM. From Manali it went to Kullu, stopped for like 15 mins. Kullu is a crowded place it is the district headquarters. The road leading to the Kullu town is just about 15-20 feet wide. And the place is quite overcrowded. Once in Kullu bus stand, we had a horrible cup of tea )literally horrible). To clear out the bad taste that the tea induced to the tongue we followed it up with some biscuits. 

You know what the amazing part about the place was? They were frying Jalebis and Samosas for breakfast! :D And there’s Aalu Prantha (yes, they spell it that way) for any meal at any time of the day!! And I love it with dahi! :D

After kullu the bus proceeded and the next stop was Bhunter not very far away. All the way from Manali the road is laid parallel to the River Beas. That is one of the best part. You get to see the rapids with numerous Rafting stalls dotted along the highway. The river is beautiful in itself and you will no longer have the doubt of why it is referred to as “white water rafting”! The rapids look milk white in color!! :)

Another interesting information is that the Kullu Manali Airport is located at this place called Bhunter. The runway is just parallel to the Beas river as well! So literally, anything that slips off any road in Himachal ends up in either the Beas or the Parvathi river(I will come to this river in a while)! :-P

The bus took a long break in Bhunter waiting for passengers to board. Meanwhile I had my share of fresh cucumbers with jaljeera masala. I eat a lot, by the way. And arjun hates food! ;)

Well from Bhunter the bus proceeded and took a diversion on the highway towards Manikaran. I noticed that river Beas was mixing with another river coming from a different direction at Bhunter. I asked one local sitting behind me and confirmed that it was the river Parvathi. Now that rung a bell in me. It was the Parvathi Valley where Sar Pass was located, as per the YHAI website!

The road was now running on the mountain edge with the Parvathi river visible to the left through the window, some 100 meters down! And the bus driver was driving like he was on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway! It was scary, but a fun ride.

In the bus, some where between Bhunter and a place called Jari, a small boy got in with a huge string instrument, resembling the rajasthathi folk instrument or sarangi. He started singing some songs. Had no clue what the songs were. But it was awesome. Amazing tune and the boy sang it pitch perfect whilst playing the instrument to which he had attached some clinging chain to produce the rhythm to the song! Wow!! Arjun took a video of a little of the performance. We both gave him 10 Rs each. 

At around 12 the conductor informed us that we had reached the YHAI camp. It was 1 KM before the Kasol town. We got down and they sight of the camp was Nice! 

The camp was down the road and we had take a fleet of stairs down. Once there the view just amazing! Loved the place already.

We were assigned tent number 7 and were told that lunch would be ready in half an hour. And thus started our camp life where we got unlimited food, 3 times a day! ;)

When I went into the tent I found a few people inside, relaxing. First to meet was Venkat Ganesh. Then came Harsha, Subhrajit and another Rakesh. I didn’t know their names that day! 

At 1:20 sharp there was a whistle and an announcement that lunch was ready. We took our bowls and plates and went on to have the sumptuous meal: Roti, Chaval, Sabji, Dal, Papad and Kheer! And all unlimited!! :D

After the nice meal, Arjun and I took a stroll to Kasol. The name always sounded familiar to me! I kept thinking where was it that I heard the name. Then I saw a couple of cafe’s playing good music and all Israelis inside. It was then i remembered. During the MAD music festival in Ooty earlier this year,Raghu Dixit had mentioned Kasol in Himachal, stating that he was going to play there! :D

After the brief walk, we came back to the base camp, since we had to be there by 3.30 for some induction. While coming back we saw a big group sitting together in the dinner tent and someone speaking from one end. Thinking that this would be our program, Arjun and I went and sat there among the crowd, only to realize that that was the previous batch. The man (Field Director for the month) was explaining about the Mountain range and the importance of the places around it. As informative as it was, we came out of the group at the right instance when the director was on a call. 

YHAI’s Rules

After tea that evening, we were asked to sit for an induction session to brief us about the schedule for the rest of the days. That was when I got to see most of the team. There were around 35 of them and it more were to join us. 

It was Mr. P.S. Chauhan from Lucknow, who was the Program in charge, who was going to speak to us about the rules. He started. He briefed us on how we should dress in the camp (no shorts or sleeveless allowed!), gave us an idea of what our schedule would be for the next 2 days in the camp before we left for the higher camps. 

The funny part about the entire conversation of Chauhan was his broken North Indian english. Being a Voice Coach by profession has it’s own negatives, and this was one. I couldn’t help but notice the glitches. Arjun was beside me laughing away as well. Well there’s always a kid in us, isn’t there? :)

So the schedule for the next 2 days:

Day 2:

5 AM: Bed Tea, 

6 AM: Morning exercise,

7.30 AM: Breakfast

8.30 AM: Sending off ceremony for the previous batch

Leave for Acclimatization walk (a short trek to acclimatize with the surroundings)

1.30 PM: Lunch

3.30 PM: Orientation

7 PM: Dinner

8.30 PM: Camp fire (to be conducted by our batch)

9.30 PM: Bournvita and then hit the bed.

After this gyan session we played Volleyball for a while. It was more like punch the ball than Volley ball since I found everyone punching the ball to the other side. I decided to join in and tried Volleying the ball. And ouch! That hurt! It was a football. So now even I ended up punching it! :D

Whilst we were at all this, I could see the previous batches depositing bags, collecting tokens, standing in queue etc. I just assumed we would be put through all that in the next 2 days and kept playing.

After a nice game we had a good dinner. Rotis, Aalu ka sabji, Rice, Dal, and some good dessert.

At 8.30 we were called for the camp fire. I was confused at this, because the burning of wood was a punishable offence in Himachal Pradesh. How would they do a camp fire then?

Well, as I found out, there was this strange structure in the middle of the ground with serial bulbs twined around it. And what was referred to as lighting of the campfire was nothing but switching on those bulbs. ;)

And as the lights went on we all were made to should “Fire Fire.. Camp Fire” in unison about 3 times. And after that one of the previous batch entertained us with some songs, shayaris etc. This was followed by certificate distribution for the batch which had returned after completing the trek successfully. :)

By the way, did I mention about the weather? It was damn cold that night. I was enjoying the weather. It made us not want to touch water! The water in the camp was directly got from the Parvathi river which was flowing just beside. And it was freezing cold. I forbade myself from even washing my face! Who cares?!

And I also decided not to take a bath for the rest of the 10 days. ;)

I only remember going to sleep the previous night in the tent. And all of a sudden I heard the sound of horses neighing and galloping around with all their might! The sound was so loud that I woke up instantly and started looking around thinking I was in some war field. But I realized I was still in the tent and people around me were sleeping. I brushed it aside as some strange dream. But I could still hear the horses in full blow! It took me a few seconds to realize that it was Arjun’s phone!! He had this alarm tone of horses galloping! He had kept the damned phone near my ear! I turned the alarm off and went back to sleep.

I was jumping into the 3rd pool of Nagala from a very great height when suddenly I heard a whistle. I stopped mid air and came out of the sleeping bag to find that Mithun, our camp leader was opening each tent’s flap and waking people up for their Bed tea. I woke up and so did most of them in the tent. With a big hesitation I took my brush out and went out to the tap and opened it and after a longer hesitation I moved my hand across the waterline in a quick motion.. And gosh! Even that hurt! I felt a pinching pain in my hand in the areas where the water touched! It was that cold. Not wasting any more time, I just closed my eyes and put my hand across, like putting the head in the guillotine for suicide. The real suicide was when I put the water in my mouth for gargling! “Brrrr” went my teeth! And I managed to brush. My system adapted to the freezing water in a while.

The so called bed tea was actually served 50 meters away from our tents. But no complaints on that. The hot tea was heavenly. Arjun and I got soup bowls for having food, tea, soup and any camp food. This was inspired by our treks with the Chennai Trekking Club where we use bowls for food. Little did we know that we would be the odd ones out here because everyone carried a proper tumbler for tea!

It was 5.50 and I put on my hunter shoes for the first time ever! And it so happened that I wore Arjun’s shoe which was a size smaller. It got exchanged in the shop in Chennai where we had purchased it! It was not until finishing the morning exercises for the day, that I realized that the shoe was not my size! I hurt my toe due to that silly act. And Arjun complained of his show being a little big.

As for the morning exercise, we were made to run from the campsite to the ground. Though many just walked, I decided to do a fast jog. It felt good to jog in the hills with the cold breeze freezing the little sweat that manages to come out through the closed pores! 

Once in the ground our team (we were called the SP21, meaning Sar Pass 21st batch) and the SP 20 team were made to form a huge circle and Mr Chauhan was in the center to teach us the exercise. The exercises were nothing more than stretching. But a lot of them. The problem with the exercises were Chauhan wanted us to do a particular stretching not on count but till everyone did it right! A very bad approach at that I would say. But we enjoyed the session nonetheless. 

The highlight of the session was when at the end he said, “Now it is time for the toughest of all.” And he started Laughing Out Loud! Throwing his hands up in the air. It was funny to watch and we eventually ended up laughing with all might. And to spice up things Arjun and I started laughing pointing at people. :P 

The aim was to make sure everyone in the nearby hotel wakes up and opens their window to see the scene! And most of them opened up. :-P

Once back in the camp, had a good breakfast and then we were asked to fill our backpacks with the huge blanket and water bottles for the acclimatization walk. I just took my backpack with all the weight. We then stood in a file to cheer up the SP 19 team who were leaving for the higher camps. 

This was followed by us leaving for the day’s activity which was getting acclimatized with the surroundings during a trek. We set off with our guide Padam and Camp leader Mithun.

The trek was pretty good, through a coniferous forest filled with rocky faces made of Mica. The trek was really worthwhile because this was the first time the team was together and there was a good amount of interaction. 

We reached a point on top of the hill. That, we were said was the resting point. We all sat there and there was where the bonding began. We had the introduction session. 

It was a fun session. That was when I realized that the trek was going to be fun. It was a notable point that there were very less IT people on the trek. Major part of the batch was comprised of teachers! And 4 from the same school in Delhi. They went on to be called the Delhi Dare Devils and KKR for some strange reasons only the SP 21 batch knows.. ;)

We also had a singing session by Radhika, a 1st year sociology student. She was brilliant! This was followed by some others joining in. I used this place to take some nice portraits of most of them. You can find a few of them here. 

The trek was good for more than a few reasons, one of it being the team getting to know each other much better. We followed a different trail down and reached the Parvathi river. With the Litchie essence that was brought along Harsha and Mithun made a juice in the fresh mountain water. Ah! That was bliss!

Post the trek we went back to the base camp and enjoyed another sumptuous lunch with almost the same menu but for a different sabji. ;) 

Took a short power nap after the lunch and at 3.30 sharp we were asked to assemble for an Orientation session with the Field Director. We all assembled and took our seats on the ground. And with unanimity a leader was chosen for our group. It wasPrasanna aka Piyu. Though he hesitated he accepted. Then came the time to chose the Deputy leader. And we suggested Nagaraj. But he was not in the session. He came after a while and the director made him the deputy leader after cracking some good jokes on him. ;)

Radhika was the Unanimous choice for the role of Environment leader since she was collecting non biodegradable trash from the forest during the trek earlier that day. :)

After that started a one and a half hour session about the place Kasol, its geography and about the Parvathi Valley and it’s historical significance. The Field director told some Mythological stories about Parvathi losing her ear ring and all. He was telling it like it was a factual story. It was a story similar to the story of Hanuman carrying a mountain which my great grandma used to tell back then. I never commented of course. :)

After the session we all went as a group to the Kasol market. That was a fun walk. By then we had started out act of teasing, making jokes and actually talking. I got a new set of hunter shoes and also some batteries and stuff. We went back to the camp site just in time for the Medical checkup. All of us were through of course! :)

That night we were supposed to conduct the Camp Fire. We got on with it. Raj was the MC for the event. Ramyya, the youngest in the group, wrote down the lyrics for the song “Hum honge kamyab”.

We had performances, mostly songs by a few of them including “Why this Kolaveri”. It was a fun session. The highlight of the event was the funny song “la la la la Churmura…” by Mrs. Suganthi.. It was hilarious. Also worth mentioning is the mono acting by Subhrajit. A Brilliant display of cricket in mono acting. We did a pretty decent job overall, I should say. ;)

That night again was a reassurance that we were great as a team. 

After a nice hot cup of bournvita and a good chat with some friends in chennai, I went to sleep.

Thus the 2nd day at the Campsite was over. A very fruitful day! Loved the time I spent there!

I heard it again! The horses! And I was cursing Arjun under my breath. Why? Why here? They will wake us up anyway! I could hear similar mumbling from someone else in the tent as well. The alarm went off.

In a while the whistle sound came blaring by. I woke up after Ganesh and went out. The morning was really cold. And I wasn’t going to do the mistake of brushing again. I decided I will skip that part and I did. ;) The usual routine of “bed” tea and getting ready for the exercise continued.

The exercise was more fun today. Did I tell you our batch strength had increased to 50 the previous day with the addition of a bunch of freshly passed out Architects from Delhi and a few others. The same exercises. Same instructor. Same outcome!

After the exercise we went back, had the breakfast, got ready for the day’s activity which was Rappelling and Rock Climbing! :D

Like the previous day we stood in a file along with the next batch (SP 22) and cheered the SP 20 batch who were leaving for the higher camps. 

Then we left! For the exciting session of rappelling and rock climbing. We had our instructors, one laxman and 2 others who were experts! We reached a big rockface. 

The instructors taught us how to rappel. First by showing a demo and then by doing it. 

We all followed suit. First to go was Ashish sir. Followed by others. Radhika was first among the girls. 

Rappelling was fun because it was too safe. They followed the mechanical method and we were all strapped safely. 

We had a lot of fun during the session because all of us were predominantly relaxing there after our turn. Jokes were being cracked on Mrs and Mr. Sugandhi. Yes that’s how Mr Raj introduced himself. “This is Sugandhi and I am Mr Sugandhi!” :D 

After the Rappelling session it was time for the rock climbing. Rock climbing looked a tad more trickier than rappelling. And the instructors told us that not everyone would get an opportunity to do rock climbing due to lack of time. Since there were already a lot in queue, I backed out and relaxed.

During this time a few of us went to the river to fetch water for making the juice! Made some nice juice and it was over in no time. 

Subhrajith, Suganthi, Priyanka, Rakesh, Anurag, Ashish, I and a few others were now deep in discussions about the different metros in India and how costly they. It was an interesting discussion and I stayed a silent spectator listening everything they had to say about different cities. This was the best part of being in such a multi cultural group. I learnt a lot about Delhi, Bombay and Bangalore. 

We went for lunch and came back to the same place and few others tried their hand at rock climbing. Meanwhile Arjun was also waiting to try out. But in the end it so happened that he gave up his slot to someone else. Ahem. ;)

After an informative and adventurous session we went back to the camp. Back in the camp it was time for us to get deposit our extra luggage in the cloak room before leaving for the higher camps. 

That night we had a nice round of yet another discussion during dinner. And this time it was about Indian history. I was yet again a silent spectator while Radhika, Captain, Aniket, Hemant and a few others were busy discussing.

Dinner, Camp fire and sleep.. Yet another brilliant day. That was the last day in the camp site. Tomorrow begins our real trek! One of the best 7 days of my life! Coming up! :)

28TH MAY 2013

It was a silent night, except for the symphony of Snores of course! And by now we found out that Harsha was the conductor of the Symphony! ;)

I lay awake that morning since 5 and there was a lot of noise outside the tent. I was surprised that we weren’t woken up. Mithun, the camp leader, came by around 5.45 and informed that we could sleep till 6.15 or 6.30! There was no exercise schedule for the day since we were leaving for the higher camp that day.

We all woke up by 6, had some tea, chatted up about the days to come and went back to packing our stuffs. At 7 we had our breakfast and then deposited our sleeping bags and blankets. By around 8 I was all packed and ready. After that there was a photo session. 

From the top left: Suresh(Mumbai), Harsha(Bangalore), Anurag(All over the world) :P, Subhrajith(Bangalore/Orissa), Arjun, Me, Rakesh(Hyderabad), Shoeb(Mumbai), Ganesh (All over India ;)), Wasim(Mumbai) and Faizan(Mumbai)

We were all part of tent number 7! 

I could see excitement among most of them. To keep the excitement on, we suggested the camp leader to play some nice songs. Oh yeah! I forgot to mention all along. Mr Mithun, the camp leader, used to play songs from his mobile everyday during the lunch time and in the evenings! We got soo bored of listening to the same playlist over and over again!

Well, He played Urvashi Urvashi from my mobile on request that morning! :D

We then had a group pic. The first one with everyone in it. :)

At 8.30 sharp all of us assembled for the final instructions from the Director. They wished us, gave a small carry bag filled with candies and biscuits. After that we took our bags and set off.

Harsha chose a war cry for us! He would shout “Takka taka takara taka..” and as a reply we shout in unison, “Ooh Aah Ooh Aah..”!

Takka Taka takara taka.. Ooh Aah Ooh Aah.. That was quite energising! :D 

There were 2 teams filed up on either side of the pathway, cheering us up as we made our way out of the campsite!

For some strange reasons I felt like a soldier being cheered up while he made his way to Kargil!! Strange thoughts that strangely pop into my mind! :D

The schedule for the day was to take a bus to a place 17 KMs away, called Barshini and from there trek till the first camp. We were on the road, waiting for the bus. The bus came an hour later! Yes. We were waiting for an hour, chatting and eating walnuts and chocolates. Once the bus came we all dumped our bags on the top and got in. There again in the bus there was a plethora of activities. Singing was one! :D

In the bus I was seated in the seat behind the driver and was enjoying the views outside. The bus started and would’ve gone for around 2 KMs when Aditi (from the Gujju gang ;)) already started feeling nauseous. It wasn’t her issue though. The bus was been driven in such a manner. It was like one of those AXN shows where they drive around 4x4 SUV’s on mountains.

Kudos to the driver for driving like that and still ensuring the bus did not end up in the Parvathi Valley!!;)

After almost 45 minutes’ drive including a 10 minute stop at Manikaran, the bus stopped at a place and the conductor said that was where we were to alight! We got down and a few guys went on to get the bags which were on top of the bus.

The place was kind of an intersection with the main road and a small other road going down. We found our guide for the day at the point along with a couple of villagers who were there for selling trekking poles made of fresh wood. Everyone got one of them. I already had one huge pole that I got from Kasol. So I decided i would stick to that.

After all this we made a single huge file and moved along with the lead in front. The architects were with the guide as leads and Wasim and team were made the sweepers of the trek!

And thus with another cry of “Takka taka takara taka.. Ooh Aah Ooh Aah..” we started the actual trek!!

The first day was a very breezy trek. Just a walk through a road till the camp. We walked for like 2 KMs when the guide told us it was time for our lunch break!

That was easy, I thought.

The lunch point was near a small waterfall which was flowing on to the road. There was a nice view of the barshini road from there! And we all relaxed there. Not that we had done anything much, but we relaxed.

I went forward to see what was there. The place was full of abandoned trucks and huge bulldozers. Looks like the work for the dam which was underway was stopped abruptly!

At the lunch point there was a villager who was making and selling hot tea maggi, omlette and other eatable chores like biscuits etc. People had a good time there. We also hogged on the hard roti that we had packed for lunch.

I tried to touch the water in the stream! And it made me scream! Such was the coldness. Many were trying to take water from the fall for drinking. I took my shoes off and stood in the water! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6…. And that was it.. I could no longer feel my legs! The temperature of the water would have been anywhere close to a 4-5 degree celcius. The ambient temperature was however pleasant and should’ve been around 15-18 degrees. :)

I then went around trying to interact with people. Then I noticed Radhika and Suresh. I thought it would be great to get Radhika to sing. And so I requested her and she was sweet enough to oblige to the same and that was when I learnt that even Suresh had learnt carnatic music for a while. So both of them sat down and decided to sign the carnatic versus of “Ninukori”. Radhika was brilliant at it! She sang the pallavi and charanam of the song. I was lost in another world listening to it!

After a long 2 hours’ rest, we got back on the road and started walking again. It was a slow paced walk and I was just hoping and wishing it doesn’t turn out to be like this the entire trek! (Which of course it did not!)

We would’ve walked for another half an hour or so when the guide asked us to take a break again! :-O

This time he said that we have almost reached the camp and he had been asked to bring us to the camp only at or after 3 PM. Time was only 2.30. So we waited again!

And at last we reached the “Kangchani Thatch”, our first higher camp! The camp was set in a beautiful location just beside a stream!

We went in and took a tent (Tent 7 members got into one tent). And after a while there was a whistle! I thought to myself, “Oh no! Not again!!”

We reached our first higher camp after a short trek by 3.30 PM. The campsite was beautiful! It was adjacent to a beautiful stream which was flowing down a small valley. We had views of snow capped peaks. It was a dream place, literally! 

Once at the campsite, we took our tents, left our bags inside and immediately heard a whistle!! Oh No, I thought. But then as was the tradition we all went out of the tents to find our Camp Leader standing there asking all of us to File up so that he can address us.

He told us about the campsite and the schedule there. Welcome drink in 10 mins, an hour later Soup, and hour from that Dinner and an hour from the dinner, Bournvita!! We were then briefed about the places around the campsite. Then came the most important of all announcements! He was going to tell us about the next morning. And why was that important? Well the place was a temporary campsite and there were no signs of “Restrooms” anywhere. Not that it mattered to me, having been part of the Chennai Trekking Club for over a year the did not even think about that. But there were people who were curious.

So the camp leader said there are makeshift latrines made at 2 different places, one for the ladies and the other for the gentlemen. And he also mentioned that it was has been 20 days since the YHAI trekking started and before our group around 600 people had already been there. He also mentioned that he never used those places.

He said to do any chores in the morning we had to trek 200 mts downstream. He showed us the directions. Now that was a relief.. ;)

After the briefing, we went on to have the Welcome drink. Again the usual Himalayan Litchie drink! It had become like a tradition now. And I wasn’t complaining! :)

After the drink people set off towards the stream where the glacier was located. I thought I would take the camera and put it to use here! The thought of saving the battery for the Snow took a back seat and I decided to capture the moments there!

So we set off to the stream. People were all around enjoying the nature and taking in as much as possible. This kind of a bliss is hard to come by!

Let me paint a picture here!

The background is a snow capped peak. Or rather Peaks. And you are standing down here in the valley. You get the entire view of the valley. Filled with green Coniferous trees. The forest is thick to begin with and towards the top of the mountain there are hardly trees. All that is is white and snow covered. Just beside you in the valley is a beautiful Stream! There are lots of boulders and the stream is not too huge or fast. It is gushing at a medium pace. And all you hear is the sound of the water hitting against the rocks and the occasional chirping of the birds interspersed with the highly familiar “Caw Caw”. Yes. There were crows! Huge ones! :-\

Now taking in all the beauty of the surrounding, we went up the stream to where the glacier was located. The glacier had been washed down due to a huge landslide. There were broken trees and mud strewn all around! The glacier was quite big and brown in color due to the mud! I tried to and did break a piece of the glacier and took it down and let everyone feel the ice. It was my first time, touching real natural ice!! :)

I came down to the stream where many of them were seated. I took a lot of pics of the group and portraits of most of them. Loved the expression on most of them! The best of all was Uma aunty who was seated on a high rock and I noticed that she had her eyes closed and was in another world altogether enjoying the sounds of the Nature! I didn’t miss to take a shot! I would say this one pic talks a lot about the place!! :)

Whilst i was taking pics there was a sudden increase in the sounds of Nature. A huge rambling sound. And then there was a huge upheaval of dust from a side. At first I thought it was some kind of an avalanche, only to realize it was a huge flock of sheep and goats descending down the mountain! Grazing away all the way down, led by a huge black dog! The dog looked cute and it was waging it’s tail to us. I went ahead and caressed the dog. Then in one swift movement it sprang ahead and ran down the stream! I took a step back only to realize it had noticed the presence of another dog nearby and had run down to chase it! What a shepherd it was!! :)

The scene was really beautiful. So many goats and sheep walking down in unison with one shepherd and a dog to safeguard them! The flock was crossing the stream, one after the other, jumping across. A few of them slipping down and climbing up. The best of the scene was the shepherd crossing the stream with a lamb in his hands. Love of the first degree! :)

Our friends here were no lesser. Kiran took the lamb from the shepherd and kept it in his hands like he was holding a baby. I saw on as he rocked the lamb from left to right for a few times and then when it wriggled gave it back. :) The shepherd smiled and went ahead to his flock and led them down.

Then it was again time for some more photos. Worth mentioning is Chandni. She was one poser! Show a camera towards her and she would smile! A great quality indeed! This was later used as a technique to cheer her up when during a tough climb she would sit down saying she cant move further. ;-)

After a nice time there we went back to the camp to be served with hot soup! The temperature started dipping very fast. The time was around 5.30 and It was nice and bright outside. We all had soup and then it was decided that we would play some game. Our deputy captain initiated the game while our captain took out his notebook and asked all of us to fill in our contact details. A nice initiative. The sad part is after the trek he has been absconding! ;)

While people were getting ready to play Kho Kho (standing kho kho apparently), I went on with the camera to another side of the camp overlooking the other side of the valley. Anurag, who was a Marine Engineer by profession was telling his stories there. Interesting stories of dodging Pirates near Somalia and about his experience near Antarctica etc. It was really exciting to hear the stories! And little did Anurag know that he would have to repeat the same stories some 10 times in the trek!! ;)

Kho turned out to be very interesting (though i was just looking), with people falling left right and center. Pretty bad falls but everyone brushed it aside as nothing.

Whilst all this we had some visitors at the campsite. 3 Dogs. Cute and huge Dogs! I was too fond of these himalayan dogs for their healthy hair and huge build. Harsha and I played with one of the dog and she was all enjoying the attention. Gave them a few biscuits and other food from that afternoon. 

We were then served hot tomato soup, the best thing to have with temperatures soaring down continuously! After a nice cup of soup we sat down and chit chatted about various things. And in just half an hour the dinner was ready!! I was so full by the time Dinner was over.

It was only then that our Captain announced that it was Mrs and Mr Sugandhi’s (:P) wedding anniversary that day and also Hemanth’s Birthday. We thought we should celebrate. So that night we all celebrated the 12th Anniversary of the Sugandhi’s and Hemanth’s Birthday.. Nagaraj (Mr. Sugandhi) was interviewed by Arjun and others with some funny questions to which he gave the best possible answers! He was one amazingly talented person! 

Mr and Mrs Sugandhi Nagaraj

The night of Ghost Stories

After a nice celebration, anniversary bums to Mr Nagaraj and distributing some sweets (Thanks to my friend Alekhya for the Chocolates! :D) we were star gazing! What a clear night that was. I had my Android handy and with the help of Google sky map I was able to point out many of the constellations and Planets! Moving Satellites were clearly visible! What a sight that was! Only thing we couldn’t see was a shooting star!!

Most of them had gone into their tents by now and around a 10 of us stood there when Captain Prasanna started telling us stories of ghosts in his office. Looked like an elderly man had been crushed to death in one of the huge machines in his workplace long back. And one night while he was working overtime, he saw someone else there and he got the company of the person. He sat beside him, gave him tea and was talking and making sure he did not sleep off. It was only later that he realized that there was no one in the building.

This was followed by others following suite. Venkat narrated one of his experiences somewhere in a Monastry where he found a monk all tangled in cob webs and how he ran away from the place fearing for life! ;)

In the midst of all this I was making hooting sounds to scare the girls. And they did scare very easy. :P

At around 9 the camp leader came by asking us to go into our tents since it was late and we had to leave in the morning. Obliging, we went to our tents after a cup of bournvita!

That night as I was sleeping, sometime in the night I could hear the dogs barking. Barking like crazy. And i heard strange noises. I brushed all that and went into the sleeping bag. In the morning people were narrating stories of a bear that had visited the camp that night. And strangely it was only the ladies who saw the Bear! Harsha too said he heard some noises just outside our tent. Well, even I heard! :D

At around 7 in the morning I set off on a journey 200 meters down the stream. Nature’s call was never this welcoming ever! Fertilizing the place, from a place where you had a 180 degree view of mountains and forests and streams! Bliss!! :D

We had our breakfast at around 7.30, took our packed lunch of chapathi and sabji and at 8.30 we set off! And this time we trekked. Real trekking to our next camp which was at a height of around 9000 feet. A camp set in between Walnut forests, with no Camp leader! All about the fun at Kodru Thatch in the next post! :)

26TH MAY 2013

After spending an amazing time in the first camp, Kangchani thatch, we all set off for higher altitude! The beginning was through the same road we had come through the previous day. We traced our way back for some 2 KMs before we were asked to climb up onto the forest. There was a trail from the base. Just as people started to climb I found Radhika and few others seated. Looked like Radhika’s shoe’s sole had come off! Timing couldn’t have been worse. But our group was such that people had everything! Amit from the Delhi Daredevils had a fevi qwick which was used to fix the shoe!

While all the sticking was happening we proceeded up through the trail deep into the Coniferous forest! The interesting part of the day’s trek apart from the steep climb was our Guide! He was one funny guy. The way he spoke was funny.

The climb was quite tough for most of them, given the steepness of the trail and people were taking breaks every now and then. Not understanding this the guide kept shouting and whistling all along. This pissed off many of them. He gave us a break after around an hour of climbing. The sweepers were way way behind. We, being quite in front, enjoyed a long break whilst the others made their way up. Then we started again. And by this time many had almost given up. Aditi was all drained out and unable to walk. She did not have any breakfast citing she didn’t like the food!

At around 12.30 we reached the lunch point. There, like the previous day, there was a makeshift tent with some locals serving tea, noodles and Egg omlette. Had a nice plate of noodles, double omlette and tea. Along with the packed lunch. During the course of the lunch we were chatting and pulling the legs of many. Then there was this awesome dog which was played with. Fed it and cuddled with it. ;)

We left by 2.00 from the lunch point after much deliberation, with the guide whistling his heart out. Post lunch was a fun walk. I joined the sweeper group, Wasim, Shoeib, Faizan, Abhishek n all. We had a gala time pulling the guide’s legs. Wasim and Shoeb made sure he was not allowed in front. They kept talking to him about things totally irrelevant. It was fun. 

Aditi, by now, was almost fully down. She didnt have any lunch as well. Gave her a snickers of which, I think she ate just a piece. But that gave her a little energy to proceed on. Along with her Chandni was also in quite a bad shape. 

Around 3 we reached a point which had one of the best views till now. We got a complete view of a range of mountains with snow capped peaks. What a scene that was!! 

Photo Courtesy: Hemanth

At around 3.30 we reached our campsite, Khordu thatch! And man. The place was beautiful, to say the least. It was in between a forest and the tents were all facing out to a scenery, endless stretch of the Himalayas could be seen from the campsite! This was nothing short of Bliss! :)

As usual the tent mates of number 7 tent took over a tent. We kept all our bags in and came out, waiting for the camp leader to speak to us. Only then did we get the news that there was no Camp leader there. And rumor was that he had run away after seeing a bear kill a cattle. :-O we all went. But yeah. We could not validate this. 

We were treated to a nice welcome drink, this time not the usual Litchie but Orange! :D The kitchen was set in a dark spot in the forest a little away from the tents. And all around the place was covered with walnut trees. But I didn’t see even one Walnut. But no complaints on that.

This camp was so peaceful and I wanted to enjoy the bliss that this place had to offer and to increase the experience, I took my ipod and went onto a huge rock and lay there listening to some melodies. The first this that I listened was Pudhu Vellai Mazhai (Yeh Haseen Waadiyan) flute version. Believe me, there is nothing bigger in the world than the experience of listening to such soulful music up there, watching the beautiful scenery! I was just lost! Completely in another world. I heard a couple of more of songs. It was the most refreshing feeling ever. :)

I then came down and sat on with the group. There was a lot of chit chat happening and few were in the tents resting after the tiresome climb. Aditi was completely out with nausea and fever. So was Chandni. 

Radhika sang the Vanajakshi song for us. 

Around 5.30 we got our soup and then around 6.30 we were given our dinner. After this Nagraj and others got to singing songs. And we got into the Anthakshari mood. And this was not just normal anthakshari but a compulsory one. Everyone had to sing a song. So we got started and each of them sang. And we got more and more people joining the group and singing. It was real fun. After a while most of them dispersed and went off to sleep. But around a 10 of us still stuck around. And this time we split ourselves into 2 groups, 1 with people singing old songs and we singing new songs. It was fun as we sang a lot of songs. Most of the old songs that was being sung was completely unfamiliar to me.  

At around 9 we set off into our tents, after a good cup of Bournvita. People in my tent were already asleep by the time I got in. It was pretty freezing cold by then and I went into the sleeping bag.

Sometime in the middle of the night I woke up to the loud barks of the dogs. And I heard them running. The sounds faded. I don’t remember if the dogs stopped or I went into sleep again. :D

The next morning we woke up to hot chai and beautiful sight of the sun rising from behind the peaks!

Photo Courtesy: Sanjay

Then there was the mad rush to find places among the forests to fertilize the soil. ;) Wah! An unmatched relief! :D

At 7.30 we got our breakfast. I completely forgot what we had! After the breakfast I we all packed our bags, gave away the sleeping bags and blankets. Then once everything was set I joined the Architects team in playing catch catch with a stress ball. And that made up for a good morning exercise. It was funny because every time someone threw it hard it went down the slope and someone had to run down and get it. Many others joined suite and we played for quite a while before we got the call from our captain to assemble. 

We assembled, counted to 48, shouted our war cry and set off to the higher camp! We bade goodbye to yet another wonderful camp. And we were on our way to the next camp, Zirmi. 

We climbed on from Khordu thatch, up into the forests. The climb was quite steep and we followed our guide for the day (luckily a rather silent guy) as he took us higher up into the forest. The weather was quite pleasant and the sky was gloomy. After about half an hour we got our first break. Took this time to play with an amazing dog that had accompanied us from the camp. He was really cute and furry. Hugging him was a good respite from the cold weather. ;)

We continued to walk and were climbing again. The time was around 11.30 when we reached an open piece of land with an amazing view of the Mountains. And there was a tent there! We had already reached our lunch point! And as per our guide the Zirmi camp was just around one hour’s trek from there. So he told us we could relax till 2 PM!! That was too much!

Here is where I reveal the story of the different trekking route.

Till the previous year, YHAI was trekking to Sarpass through another trail. This year they have changed the trail and apparently rumor has it that this was due to issues with the Villagers in a small hamlet called Grahan. Harsha, who had done the trek the previous year, told us that Grahan was a very beautiful Village and the villagers were very good and helpful. Apparently, trekkers and other foreigners used the village for rave parties, bringing in illicit drugs and stuff. This did not go too well with the villagers and they denied access to YHAI.

And YHAI had to choose this new route and this apparently is a tad more shorter than the previous one. And to keep the tradition of 11 days alive they had bring in these camps. And the distance between Khordu and Zirmi was so less that one would think that Khordu could’ve been completely omitted. But YHAI wanted it this way and we had fun. So that’s done! :D

Now that being said and done, we reached our lunch point for the day. It was a beautiful flat piece of land and we helped ourselves to nice hot tea and omlettes and noodles. Radhika sponsored the double omlette for the day for Subhrajith, who was pulling her legs left, right and center. There was a lot of leg pulling happening. Chandni and Ekta from the Gujju gang (Ekta hates to be called Gujju by the way. She is apparently Sindhi!) were lecturers teaching in an Engineering college. Many of us were shocked by this revelation and for the next half hour we were discussing on how the two would teach in class. It was a funny discussion, given the fact that Chandni herself looks like a student ;).

While the group was relaxing, I joined the architects (Surj, Hemant, Saumitra, Abhinav) along with Abhishek and Vivek for a game of Ball Catch! The flat land gave us good space to dive around and it was fun.

Another piece of information that I missed out in the previous posts. When Arjun and I first saw Saumitra from the Architects’ gang, we both turned to each other and said, “He resembles Javed Ali!” :D. And we went on to call him Javed Ali on the 2nd day of the trek and he gave us a wierd glance. From then on Arjun always called him by that name. And he did look quite pissed by that. And his friends were confused as to why we were calling him by that name! :D

After a nice game I went and had some more lunch (Roti and Sabji) and relaxed my muscles for a while. Arjun found the skull of a cow somewhere and got it. We used it to take some nice pics. Priyanka decorated the skull and Aditi did not even want to touch it because she was a “Pure Vegetarian”!!

Dark clouds were building up around the area and our guide announced that we would have to get going before the rain starts. And before everybody could get their bags and get ready it happened! Drops of water fell. And as it fell on me I could feel a chill down my spine! The water from the clouds were that freezing cold! The team immediately took shelter in the lunch tent.

We took our rain sheets out and got dressed to trek in the rain. And just as all us put on our rain coats, the rain stopped. And we started our trek again. The rain then started again. Many were still in the tents, not moving. But the guide asked us to proceed. We went up the mountain. Taking pictures and slowing making our way up to the next camp. The climb here was quite steep and strenuous. But we kept going. I was quite in the front.

After a while we reached the top of a hill. And the rain started again. We took shelter below a tree. The sky was clearing. Once everyone reached the top we continued again. This time we were walking over a plush green meadow! Beautiful meadows with the snow capped peaks in the far background. A scene right out of a Bollywood song!!

We went on and in another 10 minutes we could see our camp. We reached Zirmi! The camp was set on a rather bumby terrain and the tents looked quite crammed. But our man, Venkat Ganesh booked us a tent away from the rest!

We kept our bags in and were called for some tea. The weather was quite cold and the tea was quite a “varaprasadham” (read as bliss)!

During the tea we got introduced to the Camp leader, Ajay who was from Mysore. The news that he was a kanadiga spread and all those from Bangalore went on speaking to him in kannada. No clue what they spoke. All I could make out was “maga”!

After the tea we had our formal induction at the campsite and Ajay gave us the schedule for the evening and the next morning.

After the briefing we all set out to go to the meadows and spend some time. The sky had cleared by now and the place was just too beautiful. After taking some pictures, we (Archs and team) set out to play ball catch. And this time few of us were up the slope and rest down there. It was an amazing experience to play there. Throwing the ball high and trying to catch it.

I took a break from the game to go around to see what everyone were upto. It was nice to see everyone all happy and hyped, no mark of tiredness in anyone! That was the amount of energy nature brings into you! :)

Radhika was seated up there near a tree with a notebook. I noticed that she was sketching! Now is there anything she “Can’t” do?! She was sketching Ganesh when I saw and then moved on to Ashish and then the local villager there.

The Villagers in zirmi were too sweet and they looked happy having us there. I spoke to a few of them and they were asking me why we had to leave our jobs and come all this way to climb mountains. Well I did answer him and he seemed quite ok with my answer. :)

Shrushti was up there on a tree trying to climb it. Hemanth and kiran were with their camera capturing every moment there.

Subhrajith bhai was lying flat on a rock at the tad end, taking in the beauty of Natureas much as he could.

Chandni and Aditi were walking around with a bunch of violet flowers, posing for camera and all smiling.

Sanjay was capturing Ramyya and Ekta jumping while Mrs and Mr Sugandhi were discussing south Indian Cuisine with Arjun.

Ashish was with his Binoculars looking at a distant mountain and enjoying the views, magnified! :)

Chabra, Abhinav, Abhiram, Surj, Abhishek, Vivek, Wasim, Shoeb, Faizan and a few others were playing, running around to catch the ball.

Captain, the Delhi Daredevils team, Harsha and a few others were back in the camp, enjoying a chat or probably having a nap!

And there was a herd of cattle coming our way. And a calf was jumping around the place, running like crazy. The cow and oxen with it were grazing away, not bothered by our presence!

This was the beauty of the place. I’m sure each of us had a million problems back home, at work, with friends, family, some debts, loans to repay, pending work to do and a lot of other stuff. But here none of that is in the mind. We are all free from all worldly and materialistic thoughts. There was an unsaid feeling of peace in each of them and it reflected in each of the faces. Like the calf which was jumping around had nothing to think about but be happy, all of us were in a world which allowed us no other feeling other than happiness and peace!

I was truly lost in nature at that time. It was like living a dream. Green meadows and snow capped peaks! And I in the middle of all this. I was indeed living a dream! A dream that I never dreamt! :)

At around 5 we heard a whistle from the camp. I thought it was a call for soup. But it so happened that it was our captain trying to blow his whistle to test it. ;)

After 15 minutes we were all called to the camp for soup. We all drank to our heart’s content.

And post this there was a story telling session by Anurag. Tired of giving his pirate stories to each one separately, he made all of them sit at once place, he seated on a higher rock and narrated the story! It was evident that each one of them was engrossed in the story! :D

The temperature was dipping rapidly. And all of a sudden I felt something hit my hand. I looked around to see who was hitting with stone. Only then did i realize that it was the clouds! They were throwing ice pieces down at us!

It was a HAILSTORM! The frequency of the ice coming down increased and soon it was raining ice pieces. Wow! As I right about it I can feel the ice hitting me! I just stood there for a while trying to enjoy it, but then I couldn’t. It was too cold! I went into the tent.

Inside the tent were Subhrajith, Rakesh, Venkat (already in a sleeping bag), Anurag, Harsha, Arjun, Wasim, Faizan, Shoeib and I! We were all feeling cold. I had the ball with me and threw it to Subhrajith and he gave it to Rakesh. Then it was passed to me, I threw it to arjun and it went to Faizan, Wasim and this continued! And we increased our speed. We went on to hit everyone with the ball. Rakesh was targetting Anurag big time. This later went on to become the highlight of the trek! :D

The ball game made all of us warm! I was feeling hot. It worked! We played till we felt tired and I felt my sweat coming out and freezing instantly!

Around 6.30 we were served with nice hot dinner. It was amazing how they could serve such tasty hot food at such an altitude! And this also goes on to say that any dream of me shedding a few kilos took a back seat!! I was eating as much as I can, not once thinking about my plan to lose some weight! 

After the dinner everyone went back to their tents. I thought I would take a walk outside. It was around 7.30 and it was getting dark. I went up towards the meadows. Found that Kiran was already there enjoying the evening hues as the sun was setting behind the mountains! 

We chatted for a while about trekking that we’ve done in the South. Turned out that Kiran and Hemanth were regular trekkers in the Western Ghats. I told him about Chennai Trekking Club. 

After a while, at around 8 we went back. It was extremely cold that night. And I went in and noticed that all were already asleep in my tent. Not wanting to sleep so early I went out and noticed sounds coming from one tent. Went there and found that almost the entire crowd was in that tent singing!

I joined them. And man. It was warm inside the tent! A nice respite from the cold outside. Again it was a compulsory Anthakshari. It was real fun singing. Vivek was on a roll. He knew every song, new and old. A great talent. I could only hum to a few songs and join to sing the famous songs, which i knew.

It was a nice way to spend time. Laughing and making merry. A torch lit up the entire tent along with the melodies. At around 9 PM we were served hot Bournvita inside the tent. By now Anurag, Wasim and Faizan were out. 

The tent, which was supposed to hold 10 people were filled with almost 30 people. This was the high point of the trek. What started as a group of 48 individuals towards the beginning of the trek changed into a family of over 48 members. :)

At around 9.30 we all dispersed. We went into our tent and I was getting ready to sleep when I realized that my sleeping bag was too cold, only to find that it was wet! :( My good luck, Ganesh had his sleeping bag which he gave me. Tho not too thick it was good enough. I tucked myself in and went into a sleep. That night was too cold. I woke up many times shivering! But then I slept. 

Woke up the next morning at around 6 to the ushers of the Kitchen staff who got us hot tea to the tent. After a hot tea, I set off down the cliff into the forest for the morning rituals! Another great view of the mountains, another amazing morning. :D

After breakfast and packing, we cleaned our tents. Our captain was very furious that morning due to the fact that we delayed a lot. We were supposed to start by 8.30 but we started only around 9. 

Zirmi was one of the best campsites till that day! And we had the most fun there. And with all the memories etched in our mind, we set off on our journey to Thila Lotni! The highest of all camps! 

We left from the Zirmi camp later than we were expected to! From zirmi it was a straight climb up to begin the trek. We followed a neat file and marched on, excited about the reaching the highest Camp in this trek, Thila Lotni. 

The climb was quite tiresome to begin with and the pace was rather slow. And as we kept moving up, it was very evident that there was a dip in the oxygen levels. Also thick forests were giving way to pastures and meadows. We climbed a good deal and after about half hour got to rest at a shady place. People behind were already far behind.

The place was filled little flowers of different colors. The floor looked beautiful. Behind us was an amazing scenery of Green Meadows and the snow capped peak in the background. These were our energy boosters throughout the trek. 

After a bit of a rest and some macro photography of the tiny flowers we set off again. We were climbing again. As we kept climbing we left the forests behind. Tree lines were reducing. And we were getting exhausted pretty easily.

Another hour’s trek and we reached another beautiful patch of green meadows. This was the second rest point. We sat near a bunch of trees, in the shade. We had a great view of Snow Capped peak, quite closer than ever. Our guide told us that we would be crossing the snowy mountain the next day. 

Suddenly there was a shout, “I can see people walking there! I can see them!” We all went to see what it was about. That was when we saw dotted lines of people crossing the SarPass in the distance, wading their way through the Snow! It was the SP20 group! It was one awesome sight. And this got us all excited about the next day! :)

We trekked on, climbing all the way up. I trailed behind, taking pictures with Anurag and others, for the scenery around was beautiful! The climb at one point was pretty tough and tiring. Another half hour’s climb and we were on a small ledge of the hill. Chandni came up and dropped her bag at this point. It was picked up by the guide. Well, we were glad that it was her bag! ;)

At around 11.30 we reached the tea point. Another beautiful piece of meadow with a nice view of the mountains. We took a well deserved break here for about half hour. We started trekking and saw a small glacier on the way. Filled up our bottles with the ice cold water from the glacier. The water was not all that clean due to some mud around. But I didn’t mind that! :D

Further on was where the fun started! Trekking on Snow! It was one of the best experience. The entire place was slippery due to the melting snow. And since it was many of our first time on snow it became pretty difficult. 

There was a big queue on the small glacier that we were to cross. 

This crossing was made even worse by Arjun hitting snow on everyone. God knows how many curses he got for doing that and scaring people. :P

Many of them slipped the first time, not knowing what to expect. I somehow managed to cross over and it felt awesome! :D

At around 1, after some snow crossing and climbing, we reached our lunch point. Another beautiful place! It had a 270 degree view of the Himalayas! I don’t think words can express the beauty of the place!

There again, we had some nice hot noodles, tea and omlette. The tiresome climb had taken a toll on most of them and people were all having a nice nap at the place. Some of us were going around clicking photographs. 

After a nice one hour’s rest we set off again to the camp site, which the guide told us was a 2 hour’s trek from the lunch point. 

The climb after the lunch was quite demanding. Breathing became a little difficult. There were no trees anywhere around. 

The best part just started! We were to cross a huge stretch of snow! At least 500 meters. I enjoyed this crossing, touching and feeling the snow all along! By this time I could walk well on the snow. Thanks to the awesome hunter boots! :D

After 2 huge patches of snow we reached another green meadow! And wow! The snow peaks were at our eye level now, all sides!

The place was just out of my wildest dream! I just put my bag there and stretched my hands out in an act to hug the place! There was nice cool breeze that hugged me back and gave me a smile! :)

I was in the front, but at the meadows I took a break and decided to wait for Arjun and others. The camp site was just on the other side of the meadows. I waited and once the last group came, I took them one by one with their eyes closed with my hands and dropped them at the meadows for them to enjoy the sudden burst of Nature’s beauty! The beauty was indeed overwhelming, to say the least! 

Once Wasim and group had reached the meadow, we all proceeded to the camp site! 

After a 5 minutes’ walk across the meadow, I could see the camp sight. It was in a beautiful location, perched in between snow and mountains all around. How did I get this lucky?!!

It was beyond anything beautiful! 

Before the campsite there was a big banner Welcoming us to “Thila Lotni”, the highest camp! And near this board was a big platform made of stones. And near that was a tent, far away from the camp.This was set up by on of the locals, with biscuits and tea served hot! 

We reached the camp and were welcomed with piping hot tea! How they managed to keep the tea hot at this place, no one knew! 

After the tea the Camp leader called us, asked us to file and gave us instructions about the do’s and don’t’s at the camp. He looked like a very strict Officer, but actually very free and nice. 

After the briefing and a lot of talking, there was an issue with our camp. The usual group of 10 of us from tent 7 of base camp could not get a tent. Every tent was half occupied. So Subhrajith, with the Captain’s intervention and the architects’ help got us a tent. And we were again glad to be in one tent. This time Suresh joined us in the tent since he could not put up with the KKR group. ;)

After setting the bags in the tent, I changed, put on the thermals that I had carried. The temperature was too low. Should have been lingering around 3 or 4 degrees! After changing to thermals, we went out to the look around. And without any warning it started raining! I wish it had snowed! But no.. It only rained. I felt the water drops and it was like the area where the water touched, was getting burnt! 

We got into the tents and once again got to playing a session of ball throwing, and i was sweating inside, with all the thermal wear!

The rain stopped and we heard a whistle. It was time for soup. Wow! Can it get any better? Hot piping tomato soup! We savored the gift that we got! I had at least 3 bowls of soups. :D

The worst part of having the soup was having to wash the bowl after! I did dare myself and touched the water! It was indeed freezing!

After the soup I went out to look around. To my surprise I found that the canteen tent was full already with people warming up with the small fire put by our guide. It was a cozy place now. I went in.

I love this pic! Depicting the our plight! :)

A lot of chit chat was happening inside and it was nice to be there, knowing that it is not long before each of us would be on 4 corners of the Country doing what we don’t like doing! 

Around 6.30 we heard the whistle again and it was time for dinner now. Again, an amazing dinner! Hot rotis, Kheer and sabji. Hogged as much as I could. 

It was announced that we would have to wake up at 3 the next morning. We were supposed to start from the camp by 4.30 after a breakfast at 3.30!!! Crazy, as it might sound, this was for us to cross the snow while it is still hard. Once the sun is out, the first layer of snow melts away making way for slippery ice. We all agreed and decided to sleep.

We all went into the tent. Subhrajith, Rakesh, Harsha and all were already in their sleeping bags. 

Here’s something I forgot to mention. Harsha was sick since the previous camp. He had a high temperature and rather slow the entire time. But his will was quite commendable, being able to trek in spite of all the difficulties! 

Also, Madhuri, from the Gujju gang was quite shaken earlier that day, after seeing the huge stretches of snow. She did not want to go forward since she thought she couldn’t make it and wanted to go back down. But Sanjay, Ashish and others spoke to her and made her understand that she has complete 70% of it and gave her the much needed motivation. And she did get motivated! Who wouldn’t after seeing the beauty the place had to offer! :)

I wasn’t feeling sleepy and so wasn’t arjun. So we decided to go out. 

We went out and to our pleasant surprise found Radhika, singer Vivek, Surj, Abhinav and a few others were already in there! We went in and secured a place for ourselves. We then started singing. Vivek started and it was one amazing experience to sit around the fire and sing. We sang many songs in chorus! I missed taking my flute a lot! This would’ve been an ideal place to play the flute! 

At around 7.30 the fire was going down, and so was the sun outside. It was slowly growing dark. At 7.45 we all dispersed since the guide said he was done and wanted to sleep. We came out and sang again! Standing outside on that cold night, with strands of light from the sun, which was well beneath the horizon, hitting the highest peaks, and singing was one of the best experiences ever!!

At around 8.15 we dispersed. Vivek and I went up near the meadows to take a leak. Some feelings can be put in words, and a few others can only be experienced! ;)

I remember going inside the sleeping bag. It was a very cold night. In spite of all the thermals and overcoat I was feeling cold. But I slept. A very good sleep for such a weather, I must say.

To think that all of this actually happened for real is all the more assuring that I am living my life, the way I want it! Sleeping in a tent at 14000 feet, up in the Himalayas, in the middle of the snow capped peaks has always been a very distant dream! And I’ve realized that. And I’ve only started! :)

On the next post:

I heard a faint whistle. I peeped out of the sleeping bag. It was very dark out there. And I could hear someone murmuring. It took a while for me to realize I was in the Himalayas, 14000 feet up there, sleeping in a tent, amidst snow, numb with Cold!

There was activity outside the tent. Inside our tent, everyone was still asleep. Then came the whistle again, “Saar bed tea, bed tea! Utho utho.” I was still feeling sleepy! The time was just 3 AM! 

I woke up. And along with me Venkat and Anurag also got up. It was only a matter of seconds that I opened the tent flaps and I felt the coldest shiver I’ve ever experienced! I went out, wearing 4 layers of clothing! People were already up and running. Captain sir had made it clear the previous evening that we should be on time and not delay like the previous day. So we all woke up, had the piping hot tea. The tea was piping hot when it was poured into the Cup. But by the time it went from the cup to the lip, it was already cold! 

The campsite was beautiful. It was only 3 AM in the morning. And stars were out in full bloom. And that was the first time I saw the milky way! So clearly. It was like looking into one of those NASA wallpapers! Nothing can beat that view!! :)

Our camp leader came out and said it was time for our breakfast! It was 3.30 AM and our breakfast was already ready! Without much ado we got into a file and started having the breakfast. My memory is unable to pull out what was served. So much was served over that week that I’m all confused what was served where! :D

So we had what was served and I remember having a lot because we needed extra energy that day. It would be a long walk on snow, crossing the SarPass. After the breakfast I took the challenge of washing the bowl in which I ate. And I regretted that act! The water almost gave me a Frost attack! It was so damn cold!! And i whole heatedly appreciate those who Brushed and washed their faces there, that morning!! FYI, I did not brush once in those 7 days.. :P

Around 4.30 we were all ready. I was the last out of the tent. We cleaned the tent, got our packed lunch for the day. Got some dry food. Full of energy!

Around 4.45 we all assembled above the campsite. There were still a few who had not come yet. We were enjoying the beauty of the place. It was already starting to brighten up and the snow capped peaks were glistening a little! A scene I would never forget! 

At around 5 the camp leader came and gave us the instructions about how the rest of the day would be. And it seemed quite exciting. We were to start and climb up to a view point and further on the trek would be completely on snow. And towards afternoon we would be at place from where we would have to Slide down! Wow, we all thought.

At the strike of 5 we all set off. The Camp leader also joined us, since he needed some exercise before he treks back to civilization in a couple of days. 

The initial climb seemed pretty simple, only to become tougher 5 minutes later. The ground which was grassy was slippery! The grass had a frozen layer of ice on top making it too slippery. Many slipped and fell at this point. I took a small detour and walked extra carefully. 

The climb was quite steep and hence very slow. This gave us a lot of breathing space. The scenery behind us was a wallpaper material! Sun was rising far behind the mighty Himalayas! And the scene that unfolded in front of us was one of the most beautiful ever! 

As we kept climbing the view behind us kept getting better. And I vowed to come back! And I think I will do this trek again! 

After around half an hour of steep climb, we reached a flat expanse of grass.

Beyond this point all that one could see was Snow! This got me all pepped up! And at this grass expanse, we rested. Lots of chocolates were shared. This was an energy booster. The sun was already high up and it was bright and Sunny! 

After half an hours rest, we set out. And this time I went in front. Just to cross into the snow first! And man it was fun! We made our way through the snow. Half a day through snow, walking, slipping, Sliding. 

The day started at 3.30 and the time was around 6.30 and it was very bright and sunny up there! We were all resting in a flat place after negotiating a steep climb! Chocolates and sweets were distributed to all there to boost the energy for the climb that lay ahead of us. 

I took this opportunity to go in the front. The Sherpa was cooing and asking us to move. Surj, Radhika, Venkat, Vivek, a few others and I went in front. The look was just too beautiful! The entire expanse was like a huge white sheet of paper! We went ahead and took some pics! Lying down in the snow, making faces and stuff! 

Off we set in front along with the Sherpas, after bidding a farewell to our Camp Leader who had come on the short climb to warm up for his climb down in a couple of days. A really enthusiastic man, he said ours was the most obidient and yet the most fun group of all that had come till date! :D

We started walking, in front of us were the Delhi wale Teachers, enjoying in their own right! I liked their spirits, which was quite annoying to many. ;) They did not act their age and that was the best part. They were more like college students. Fully enthusiastic, wanting to sprint in front. And we let them. :D

This part of the entire trek was probably the best of all the days that we had. It was fun. And this was where the actual gelling happened between most of us. Surj and the group of Architects, who were with their own group till then, came out and mingled well with us. And we were having a blast walking together, pulling Radhika’s legs every now and then, all the while being extremely wary about the trail. 

We were walking in the middle of the mountain, on a path made by the 20 groups that had done the trail before us. It was 8 am, the sun was out in full glow and the snow had started to melt slowly! The air around was still cold, but it was much better than how it was early in the morning.

As we were walking on, enjoying the beautiful place, I saw behind to find that the entire group was quite spread out. I could hardly see the last person in that vast expanse. The distance between the first and the last would’ve been at least a kilometer or more. Walking on snow was not that easy for a first timer and hence the slow pace.

After around half an hour’s walk, we reached the lunch point. It was a pleasant surprise to see villagers with their small canteen there. They served us piping hot noodles, double egg omelets and tea! The noodles was hot on the bowl, but before u took it on your spoon and took it to your mouth, it became cold! :\

The lunch point was a fun spot with a flat ground and a lot of snow to play with. This is where we teamed up to welcome everyone who came behind us with huge snow balls! I let myself loose and got to playing with snow! It was such an experience! It was like I went back to my school days! In all this excitement of hitting each other with snow, I happened to hit Priyanka quite hard with a huge snow ball by mistake! And she was so hurt that she promised to take revenge on me by making me sit through an entire Telugu movie! :\ :P

After exhausting ourselves with the snow fights and having some nice food, we set off again. This time I started late. But I caught up with those in front. This time we had with us our Captaan, Prasanna! He was a real inspiration, having injured his knee during the acclimatization trek; he made it to the top of sarpass without any issue! A really commendable will power, which we call term as “Mind over body” in the Chennai Trekking Club! :D

As we started walking, the trail became narrower and we were now walking on a narrow (around 2 meters wide) sledge in the middle of the mountain. To our right was the upward slope, leading up to the peak of the mountain and to our left, a steep downward slope whose end was not visible!

The landscape was completely different now. At some places several small mounds of snow were visible, indicating that there was an avalanche sometime in the past in that mountain. That was a scary thought, but proved all the more adventurous! ;)

After an hour’s walk, we reached a point beyond which there was a wall. A huge 50 meters high wall filled with snow. It was not a wall per se, but rather a steep incline leading up to a sledge on top. There was a rope which was suspended from the top. When we reached there the Sherpas were already on top and the Delhi wale KKR gang was almost up there.

Though it looked like an impossible climb, it was pretty easy, given that the snow was quite hard and you could create a good grip by making a hole with your shoe! This was when the real purpose of the hunter boot came into light! It made the climb all the more easy! I made the climb in around 10 minutes!

And that was it! We were at the highest point of the Trek! 14300 feet! The view from up there was just astounding! On either side we could see the mountain tapering down! And that looked scary! Because there seemed no trail leading down! Just a very steep incline of around 200 – 500 meters!!

Just while I was wondering about all this, I heard a loud shout! I thought someone had slipped! But no. Someone was pushed! Yes. One of the delhi teachers was sliding down the mountain through the snow! And the sherpa just let him sit there and gave a push! I gazed in awe as he was sliding down, displacing snow on all sides, in full speed! As he was about to reach the bottom of the slope, some 300 meters below (in less than a minute!) he tumbled and flipped some 3 to 4 times before he came to a stand still! He looked like an ant now, by the way! But he stood up and waved, indicating that he was safe! 

After this one by one was led to the edge of the sledge and made to sit down and pushed down! As 3 of them went down, I got the required confidence and couldn’t wait to slide down. Before us the Captain took his turn. He had one of his favorite topis (hat) on while sliding and mid way the topi flew. It flew high up and came down and went a great distance by the time anyone could get their hand on it! 

So now it was my turn. All I remember was sitting there! The Sherpa gave a very strong push! I held my stick high up and went down! What an experience that was! I was going down the mountain in full speed, snow flakes hitting my face so hard! Luckily I had my glasses on! After around 40 seconds of slide, I could see people standing down the slope. Thinking I reached, I tried to stop the slide with my shoe! This proved to be a wrong thing, because when I braked suddenly, my body was thrown off and I ended doing multiple somersaults, before I reached the end of the slope! But luckily nothing happened. And what fun that slide was! I wanted to go back up and do it all over again, but it was way too steep to climb up!

Now this trek was getting better than I had ever expected! The experience of sliding down snow for over 500 meters is just beyond any word can describe! And just when I was feeling bad that I couldn’t go back to try it again, another surprise awaited! There was another slide just ahead, almost the same distance! :D

During the next slide I was super confident and did it in style, steering with the help of the stick and landing perfectly! We were among the first to slide down! After the second slide we reached a flat space of land, which had a nice big glacier! Huge ice was melting down to feed a stream which was flowing down the mountain, probably joining with other streams to later join the Parvathi river!

After a 15 minutes walk we could see trees starting to reappear! And we reached a nice sunny meadow. Here we all sat, waiting for the rest of the group to arrive. Most of us were lying face down in an attempt to dry our pants which were completely wet now, from the 2 amazing slides! :D

Once the entire team had come down, we all walked further to a snack point where we all had lunch! Theplas, sweets, pickles and lot of other goodies were part of that lunch. We all ate, whilst discussing about the awe we had just experienced!

Devouring the snacks, maggi, omlettes and juices at the snack point, I just lay down on the grass recollecting the happenings of the day. It was only around 12PM and it seemed like evening. I realized this was because our day had started way too early! What a day it had turned out to be! One of the more adventurous days of my life! The slide down the mountain was one of the best experiences ever! I was definitely going to come back to this trek next, I thought to myself! 

After 2 hours of nap and rest, the sherpas waved us to get ready to leave. We started our trek to our next camp, the Biskeri thatch! The trek was pretty easy and slow. We were walking on a ridge of a mountain. Trees had started to appear. After about half an hour’s walk, we reached the edge of the mountain. From there, down below we could see the tents. It looked so beautiful and really inviting! Seeing the campsite made me smile. I thought it was close. But I was wrong!

We had to climb down from here, on the left. The trail down looked like a muddy road! Lots of trees were strewn across! Full sized trees. A closer look revealed that the trail was created by a huge landslide. Should’ve happened very recently, I thought! 

The place was beautiful. From barren snowy terrain we were now entering the forest zone. Lots of trees all around! And to the left was a valley and from the mountain beyond, in a distance, we could see a huge waterfall. It looked so tempting that I wanted to trek down and take a plunge! But YHAI rules prevented me from doing that! How I wished I was trekking with CTC! :D

We had been climbing down for over an hour now but the campsite never came! What appeared to be so close from above was actually far! And it appeared like we were going around the mountain to reach the camp! 

Further down and I could see a vast expanse of green! And in the far end, beyond a small stream was the camp! I ran in! Few others had already reached there! We were welcomed by the camp leader (whose name I forgot) with juice. After the juice we all settled in our tents. Unlike other camps, we got only 4 tents here, 3 for guys and 1 for the ladies! 

We had to squeeze in, and we did. After setting the bags and putting some clothes to dry, we tried to go around the campsite. There was a nice stream right in front of the camp, and I just went a little further down the stream when it hit me! The Stench! It was bad. I just tried to focus what it was and then I wished I didn’t! The scene was bad. The place had been converted into a shit hole! Literally. It was such a bad sight and in such contrast with the scene outside! Tissue paper was strewn all across! Humans! I thought! 

I ran back to the camp after a few gruelling minutes! The campsite in itself was in a beautiful place, surrounded by mountains in the distant and forest below! I was taking in the beauty of the place, seated at a point from where the waterfall was visible. As I closed my eyes for a while, I felt some drops of water on me. I closed my eyes and relished that moment. I imagined that I was at the waterfall! Water drops kept falling on me. And in a few seconds the force became high! And I felt a chillness running down my spine! It was rain! And the water drops were freezing cold! I immediately went into the tent! For the next half an hour it rained continuously. Water seeped into the tent too. 

Once the rain stopped, we all went outside for a hot cup of tea and biscuits! It was so refreshing for the teeth shattering weather!

Post tea we spent time loitering around the camp taking pictures and making jokes. We were server quite an early dinner, given the fact that our day started really early. Many of them had already slept due to the tiredness.

After a sumptuous dinner, we all tugged into our sleeping bags quite early. I slept off immediately and had one of the best sleeps! 

The next day was a host to some dramas! 

We all woke up and carried out our routine and then got ready around 8AM to leave by 8.30. Just as we assembled we heard news that Wasim was not keeping well. I went into the tent and found out that he had an excruciating pain near the stomach.

Not knowing what it was, Captain and a few others tried to calm him and found out that he had a history of Kidney Stones. Confirming this with the area of pain, the captain and the Camp leader together decided that Wasim not continue the trek and be taken to the Base Camp and taken to a doctor the same day. Faizan and Shoeb, who were friends with Wasim offered to stay back and go with Wasim. 

Most of us were disappointed that they had to part. It was after all the penultimate day of the trek! 

Wasim was inside the tent along with Faizan and Shoeb and we all got ready to leave. Just then we heard a shriek from inside the tent. Wasim’s pain had increased and he was moaning!

Now was when the actual drama began. Our group captain Prasana has had a history of Kidney Stones and hence to be on the safer side, he had the medicine for the same. The only issue was that the medicine had to be injected and not taken directly. 

There were no doctors in the group and none of them had any experience of giving an injection. Just as we were running out of options and Wasim’s pain kept ascending, one of them shouted, “Call the Marine!” 

Marine, as he was called, Anurag was a sailor by profession and as a member or long journey ships they are given medical training which also involves giving injections. This suddenly struck someone and Anurag was called for.

Anurag came. But to our dismay he simply said, “I was given training 4 years back, but I’ve never done it on anyone and I’m not that confident.” But Prasana was sure that since he had some basic training he was the only bet. And after a little persuasion, Anurag agreed to give the injection. He took the medicine and Syringe and the way he did it, he looked like a doctor right out of a Robin Cook Novel!

The injection was given to Wasim and in the next 3 minutes his pain had reduced. He was then put back into the tent. Faizan and Shoeb for assistance. The sherpas were to assist them back to the base camp through a shortcut. 

We assembled again. Counted our numbers, 45 of us now, and started on our next leg of the Journey. It was the penultimate day of the trek. We had one more camp and by the next day we were scheduled to report at the Base Camp! It was all coming to an end. 

The trek was now mostly down hill. Steep incline. We were inching down in a line. I was behind. Looking ahead at the group. I wondered about the group. It was a perfect group in every sense. A sense of family was prevailing within us now. Everyone was talking to everyone else now, more freely than ever. Making jokes and pulling legs had become so easy. And I couldn’t help but smile at my luck, yet again. I’ve always managed to find great friends. And this trek had added a horde of them! :)

With this thought I trekked on. I reached the front in a while. After an hour’s downhill trek we rested at a point where there was a diversion. 

From here we were guided by a villager. We took to the trail, marked “YHAI” all over and with arrow marks every 100 meters or so. The trail was through a thick forest .It was a breezy trek for most. But for a few it turned out difficult. Chandni, for one, found it really difficult to climb down. I guess she was quite scared of the incline, and had to be guided by hand. Aditi was with her the whole time. 

I loved this bit. Felt more like a trek with CTC! The forest was pristine! And To maintain the CTC spirit Arjun and I even tried to make our own! Sliding down the muddy mountain trail, it was a fun trek.

After a 2 hours trek, we reached a bottleneck  People were waiting in a queue. Went ahead to see what was happening. And a pleasant surprise awaited us! We had to rappel down and cross a fast flowing stream on a one foot wide bridge! :D

The rappelling down was actually not required. It was kept just give a feel I guess, because most of us were able to climb down with ease. Just that the loose rocks were a bit slippery. Then came the stream crossing. The stream was a beauty in it’s own right! Gushing in full glory!

We crossed and climbed up a steep incline to be invited by a villager who had set up a stall there. It was lunch time! :D

This place again, was beautiful. There was a huge waterfall on one side of the flat lunch point. And then the mountains on the other side. I went up and sat at one end just staring at the waterfall and the stream! It was so inviting. But looked too dangerous too! As I mentioned earlier, I so wished the trek was organized by CTC! :P

Most of them were already deep in sleep after a sumptuous lunch. Loved the omlette served by the locals. 

After a 2 hours rest we started again. And this time we were greeted a bunch of cute puppies and their parents! The dogs were too adorable. After spending some time with them we proceeded. Again through unending forest trail. After a while it started drizzling. But luckily didn’t rain. We kept walking. 

On the way we met some villagers who were selling buttermilk!This was a super treat for most of us. All of us had to our heart’s content. And upon request, the villagers agreed to bring curd for us to the camp that evening. They were some of the sweetest people I’ve ever met! Their generosity was beyond measure! :)

We proceeded. Kept walking. And we came to point where we had to climb a steep incline! Very steep!

It was the 6th day of trek. And we had Sarpassed! Climbed steep mountain slope, Walked on slippery snow, Slided down 300 meter steep snow filled mountain, walked a lot, climbed down, endured hail storm (a small one at that:P), got drenched in rain and enjoyed all the way, and here we were standing in front of another steep incline! The arrow pointed up to show us that our next camp, Bhandak Thatch was up the mountain! Many of them had already started climbing up! 

With a lot of trouble I pushed myself up. I was panting for breath, the steepness taking a toll on my already stiff muscles. Since we were playing with the dogs and walking at our leisure we (around 10 of us) were the last to reach the place. By the time we started the ascend, most of them had reached the top!

I slowly started moving up. Arjun, Aditi, Chandni, Anurag and others were trailing behind. It was just a muddy trail up. There were trees here and there. As we kept moving it started to show. Inch by inch. First I could see a line of white peaks of the mountains. But by now I had so gotten used to the Snow-capped peaks that it didn’t motivate me any further. 

But as I kept dragging myself up, it came to view. Slowly and steadily. And as it started coming into view, my climb became faster, my heart skipped a beat, I became breathless for a while! I ran up to get the full view! And in front of me was a herd of Cattle. But beyond the herd, in full view, was Bhandhak Thatch! Unending vastness of green perfectly manicured lawn (natural though) and at the far end the snow-capped peak! What a sight that was! I just stood there looking at the place, unable to believe that I was actually there. I had to pinch myself a couple of times to actually believe that what I was experiencing there was infact real! I don’t think any words would be enough to describe the place! And let me just leave it there!!

I walked on and found that most of them had already settled on the lawn! I quickly put my bag inside the tent and joined the group. They were all seated and chatting. Time to relax, I thought. It was such a beautiful place to be at! No words can match the experience of being there! :)

After relaxing in the lawn for a while the Camp leader came. He was actually the head of cooks there but had taken over as the camp lead since the Camp leader had apparently left due to some reason! He told us we had reached really early! He then briefed us about the place and the rules there. 

After a while the ball came up. And with no hesitation we started playing catch catch. Most of them joined. I tried my hand clicking some pictures. 

After a while catch catch became a little boring and hence we got into a game of hit the back, where we were divided into 2 teams and the aim was to hit anyone from the opponent with the ball. This turned out to be one of the highest points in the entire trek! It was so much fun to play. Initially started off with just the guys, but seeing the excitement in the game, others joined.

The weather was really cold and the game was an amazing way to keep warm! I was sweating for the first time in the last 8 days! 

During the course of the game, Vengat got quite a deep wound on one of his feet due to which he had to back out. We played till exhaustion hit us! And then again sat down to relax. The actual effect of the game was seen below our feet. The Chlorophyll from the grass had completely stuck on to our legs! I wondered how many insects we would’ve killed! ;)

After the game and the chit chatting, it was dinner time. And this was going to be the last higher camp dinner we were going to have. And it turned out to be a feast. We had rice, chapathi, Dhal and sabji. But the highlight of the dinner turned out to be the Dhahi which was brought to us by the villagers. 

A small word about Arjun here. All along he had been avoiding the dinner (having very little) because he didn’t like to have the same food over and over again and was craving for some south indian style food. As and when Sungandhi came to know of this she didn’t feel good. And to make it better for Arjun, she made Thayir Saadam out of the curd and rice, took some pickle that she had and fed him, like a mother! And Uma aunty (Radhika and Ramyya’s mom) gave us extra curd, that she had saved for the next day! This was another high point of the entire trip! We had some of the most adorable and loving people around us! And the feeling of family was getting stronger by the second! :)

After the most sumptuous dinner, we went back to the tents. Since this was going to be the last day for all of us together, we all got into one unused tent and started Anthakshari. This went on till 9 in the night post which many went off to sleep. 

Most of them were inside the tents. A few of us were standing outside and Vivek got into singing mode. We had another amazing sing along session with songs that all of us knew! It was getting colder and colder but I was so enjoying it! There was faint moonlight which had illuminated the snow capped mountains and they appeared even more beautiful with the gleam! :)

I don’t remember when I went to sleep, but I had one of the most peaceful sleep! 

Woke up the next day to bed tea at around 6. Went far into the woods for the morning chores! The forest was thick and deep and there was a small valley on the other side with a stream flowing through it! There was just beauty all around! And I was in the middle of all the beauty! I was going to miss all this so badly, I thought!

We had our breakfast and assembled, to leave! We left. 

As I walked on I couldn’t help but turn back to take a last glance at the beauty of the place. The camp was not called “Swiss of India” for a silly reason, afterall, I thought. 

We went down the same way we climbed up the previous day! We climbed down. This time I was in the company of Ashish, Sanjay, Subhru and Captain. Captain was asking us as to who we thought would go back as pairs after the trek. Each of us had different names to give out (not revealing the names here :P) It was a fun conversation. But yes. little did we know that all our assumptions would go so wrong and that we would be in for some serious shock later. ;)

The trek was completely downhill for around 2 hours after which we came to flat ground! It was so different! We were into civilization after 7 days! 7 days of the most beautiful experience! 

We all marched on, through the fields in the village, crossing houses with people staring out. We walked on and on into Irony. A huge hydroelectric project by cutting through natural rivers. We crossed the construction site and climbed onto the road. The place was Barshini which was the end of the road. There was no access road beyond this village and this is where we were to board a bus which would take us to Manikaran. 

We got onto the bus and left. As the bus started, I could see the forest with the snowcapped mountains in the background fading out of view. What an experience it had been! It is almost a year as I write this and the memories of those days are still fresh! 

A sense of completeness filled me. A sense of fulfilment! 7 days of complete secluded life. I had forgotten facebook, my mobile phone or any of those social bonds! And I didn’t even miss them! I felt free. The 7 days had made me stronger. It gave me some amazing friends!